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0-Frame Move

- n. - A move that is active before the first frame of its animation. Meaning if the opponent wasn't blocking before the first frame, they will not be able to block on the first frame. Some Supers, especially command grab supers, place the startup before the superflash, making them effectively 0-frame moves after the super flash, preventing your opponent from escaping or blocking on reaction to the super flash. Throws in some 2d games like Street Fighter II and Guilty Gear come out in 0 frames. In Guilty Gear this means throws can interrupt meaty attacks.

50-50

- n. - Refers to a Mix-Up scenario where the attacker can subject a defender to 2 different possible attacks that need to be defended against differently and which cannot be reacted against. High or low? Left or Right? Hit or Throw?

A

Abare

- v. - Using an attack out of blockstun to attempt to escape from pressure.

Active

- n. - The period of time during an animation where the character has a hitbox which can deal damage to the opponent.

Air Blocking

- n. - The ability for characters to block while in the air. Some games do not have Air Blocking at all, others only allow you to Air Block certain moves, and some games let you Air Block everything.

Air Combo

- n. - Used to describe the classification of Combos that are performed when both character (the attacking and the victim) are in the air. In Japan, this is referred to as an "Aerial Rave."

- v. - To perform an Air Combo on your opponent.

Air Dash

- n. - A Dash performed in the Air. In most games, Air Dashes cause you to move straight and forward in the air quickly.

- v. - To perform an Air Dash.

Air Reset

- n. - In the Street Fighter series, some moves cannot juggle airborne opponents, instead putting then into an invincible air reel animation, where they will be invincible until they land on the ground, and capable of acting the first frame they land, similar to a knockdown.

Air Tech

- n. - A tech that is performed in the air, causing the character to exit juggle state and enter a neutral air state. Sometimes you can air tech forwards or backwards.

Air Throw

- n. - A Throw performed in the Air. See "Throw."

Air-to-Air

- n. - Using an air attack versus an opponent who is also airborne.

Anchor

- n. - In Tag Team fighters, designates the character who is selected to go at the end of a team, fighting when their team mates have already been knocked out. They are typically selected for this purpose for their ability to convert lots of meter into damage, and fight by themselves without assists.

Animation Frame

- n. - In 2d games, characters need to be animated by drawing an image of each pose they go through in the course of performing a particular move. In games using 3d engines, the characters are typically "tweened" between frames instead of having explicit frames of animation. For example, a Crouching Short Kick from Ryu in Super Street Fighter II Turbo is composed of three Animation Frames: one where Ryu is starting to kick, one where Ryu has his leg extended, kicking at the enemy, and the last one with Ryu retracting his leg.

Anti-Air

- adj. - Describes any attack that is designed or used for attacking enemies who are airborne. It may do this by hitting upwards, being invincible versus air moves, or catching the opponent's landing. When a move is described as being Anti-Air, it also implies effectiveness at doing its job. Dan's KouRyuKen, for example, looks like a Shoto ShouRyuKen, but has no invincibility. Thus, it is not really considered an Anti-Air move. Often abbreviated "AA."

Assist

- v. - To call a team member in a Tag Team Fighting Game, so they can use a move to help out the Point character.

B

Back

- n. - Describes the position of the joystick that is opposite the direction your fighter is currently facing.

Backdash

- v. - An action that allows you to quickly move backwards, faster than walking, usually by double tapping backwards. Backdashes are frequently invincible during their start, and throw invincible during most of the animation.

Battery

- n. - In Tag Team fighters, this character archetype is good at building meter, and operating without spending meter. Morrigan in Marvel vs Capcom 3 is considered a good Battery for her Soul Drain special and Dark Harmonizer assist, both of which generate large amounts of meter, Soul Drain even stealing meter from the opponent. She also rarely has reason to use anything but her level 1 hyper combos.

Block

- v. - To defend against an opponent's attack. Usually, doing so puts you into Block Stun.

Block Combo

- n. - Similar to a Combo, except your opponent is Blocking the whole time. No where in the midst of a Block Combo can the opponent escape without using a form of Counter Attack. Also called a "True Block String."

Block Damage

- n. - Moves that cause Block Damage mean that, even though you defended against the attack, you still take a little bit of damage. In most games, Block Damage can only be caused by Special Moves and Supers.

Block Punish

- v. - When the opponent uses a move that is unsafe on block, to punish that move by hitting it with an attack that starts up faster than the move's frame disadvantage. This is like the opposite of a link. Instead of hitting the opponent while they are in left over hitstun as frame advantage, you are hitting the opponent while they are in left over recovery as frame disadvantage. This means the same rules used to find links can be used to find block punishes.

Block String

- n. - Term used to describe a series of attacks that are good for pressuring the opponent and keeping them in a defensive position. Block Strings usually contain many holes that the opponent can escape from, making Block String patterns not particularly effective. The most effective Block Strings are ones constantly improvised while gauging your opponent for when they will try to react.

Block Stun

- n. - After blocking an attack, characters go into what is known as "Block Stun." During Block Stun, they are stuck in blocking animation and cannot do anything except block again. The length of Block Stun depends on the attack that was blocked. In almost all games, once you start blocking, you will continue to block all further attacks, even if you let go of the joystick. You still have to block high or low correctly, though. Also, in some games, players can "escape" Block Stun with moves such as Alpha Counters or Red Parrying or Burst. In almost all games, you cannot be thrown during blockstun, and in the exceptions, there is usually a longer throw tech window if you are thrown during blockstun.

Block Zone

- n. - The area that is blocked when guarding. Moves can hit high, mid, or low. In 2d Fighters, the block zones are standing and crouching. Standing will block highs and mids. Crouching will block mids and lows. Since Lows can come out quickly, it is usually advised to block crouching until the opponent jumps or performs an overhead. In 3d games, standing block will block highs and mids, but crouching block will cause highs to whiff, and only block lows.

Bread and butter

- n. - A [or the] staple combo or approach for a character.

Buffer

- v. - 1. In 2-D games, Buffering is the name given to a character's ability to cancel certain Normal Moves' animations into a Special Move or a Super. In some games, you can only Buffer moves in certain, specific Animation Frames. Also, in most games, you can only Buffer moves if they connect against the enemy, whether blocked or not. But in some games, you can Buffer moves in any frame and sometimes even if they miss. 2. In 3-D games, Buffering refers to executing a character's move before a current action completes, so that the instant the current action completes, the move you did the command for executes right away.

BYOC (Bring your own controller)

- n. - Term applied to tournaments where attendents are required to bring their own controllers to play with, as none or few will be provided.

Bread and Butter

- n. - A Bread and Butter combo is any basic combo that the player has practiced and memorized for game play. Bread and Butter refers to the fact that this combo should be the staple of the user's strategy. Also known as BnB.

Burst

- n. - A Strike Invincible counter attack that is possible only during an opponent's combo. Allows one to break out of the combo, forcing the opponent off of them.

Burst Bait

- v. - To intentionally set up the opponent to burst at a time when the burst will not connect, or can be interrupted with a throw, such that they can be punished for bursting.

C

Cancel

- v. - Beginning a move before the animation of the previous move has finished; the end of the previous move is "canceled" and the next move begins immediately. What moves can be canceled into other moves depends on the game, but in many cases weaker normal attacks can be canceled into stronger normal attacks, and all normal attacks can be canceled into special moves.

Chain

- v. - Used to generically describe the cancellation of any move into any other move.

- n. - The act of Chaining one move to another.

Chain Combo

- n. - The ability for certain characters to cancel a Normal Move into another Normal Move, usually in an order from weaker moves to stronger moves or command moves.

Charge

- adj. - Describing moves that require a direction or button to be held for a duration of time before they can be used, or characters that have such moves. A common example would be Guile's Sonic Boom and Flash Kick. Sonic boom requires holding back to charge, then after 2 seconds, pressing forward + punch to release the Sonic Boom. Flash Kick requires the same except holding down to charge, and up + kick to release. By holding Down + Back both moves can be charged at the same time.

Chip

- n. - See "Block Damage."

- v. - To hit a blocking opponent with a move that causes Block Damage.

Close Up

- adj. - Used to describe the type of Normal Move in some 2-D games that can only be performed if you are within a certain distance of the enemy, usually a very small distance.

Color Health

- n. - Called "Red/White/Purple/Blue Health" depending on the game. This type of health is distinguished from your normal health on the health bar by a distinct color. It regenerates slowly over time, but is taken as regular damage if you are hit before it completely recovers. In Tag Team fighters, a portion of all damage is taken as Color Health, which only regenerates when the character is offscreen, not fighting on Point. This Color Health is lost if the character is switched back on-screen, such as by a Snapback.

Comeback Mechanic

- n. - A mechanic that is designed to help the player who is currently closer to losing, or giving them benefits as they come closer to losing. Also known of as Negative Feedback. This can come in the form of moves dealing more damage when you are low on health, meters that charge when you take damage, gaining Burst meter more quickly as you lose health, having a powered up mode that increases in power as you lose more characters, and more. Comeback factors and Negative Feedback tend to make it so a health lead is not necessarily an overall lead, meaning matches are more prone to swinging back and forth, and results are less consistent, but it can also make it so matches aren't decided by who gets an early lead, and help counteract slippery slopes that would otherwise exist.

Guts Scaling, or damage reduction as you are closer to 0 health, is not a form of negative feedback, because it's not changing the total amount of effective health the character has, just concentrating it in one part of the health bar over the rest of it. In Guilty Gear, it's actually a form of positive feedback, as chip damage does proportionally more damage to opponents who are close to dying.

Combo

- n. - A series of hits that, once the first connects, the rest will connect without giving the opponent the ability to defend at any point. Some games have moves that act as "Combo" breakers, but most do not. - v. - To perform a Combo on an opponent.

Combometer

- n. - The counter on the side of the screen that tells you how many hits are in your combo. Depending on the game, it may appear after the combo is finished or while the combo is in progress.

Command Normal

- n. - A type of Normal attack that comes out when a button is pushed in conjunction with a joystick direction. This is opposed to a Normal attack that is activated by a single button press.

Command Throw

- n. - A special type of Throw that is a Special Move. That is, it requires a joystick motion to perform and has all the other properties that Special Moves have (able to be Buffered into, etc.).

Corner

- n. - The ends of the playing field, where the screens stop scrolling. The corner is the furthest to the side you can go. Some games do not have corners and in many 3-D games there are various walls that indicate the end of a stage, but are not referred to as Corners.

Corner Carry

- n. - The ability of a combo to move an opponent into the corner from anywhere on-screen. Some combos have more corner carry than others, making them helpful for setting up bad situations for the opponent.

Counter

- n. - A type of defensive maneuver that negates an attack and automatically performs a follow-up. This technique is more common in 3-D Fighters than in 2-D fighters, though a few 2-D fighting games will have them.

Counter Hit

- n. - The act of connecting an attack against an opponent during the startup or active frames of their attack. Not all games give any special reward for landing a Counter Hit, but in many Counter Hit rewards you with extra damage, longer Hit Stun, or higher Floats.

- v. - To hit the enemy with a Counter Hit.

Counter Poke

- v. - Another term for Whiff Punish, named because Whiff Punishing is a counter to pokes.

- v. - To use your own poke around your opponent's poke in order to punish them for poking.

Cross-Up

- n. - A move that can hit an opponent on the opposite side they are facing, such that they need to block by holding forwards instead of backwards. Moves that can cross up have a hit box that extends behind the origin point at the center of the character. This means when the character's origin point passes their opponent, they can still hit, and the blocking directions will be reversed now that the characters are on opposite sides of one another. Trying to attack with your origin point almost exactly on top of your opponent can make the direction they need to block the crossup very ambiguous, making it difficult to block.

A common example would be Zangief's jumping Down + HP, which is a jumping body slam. This move's hitbox extends from his hands all the way down to his feet. So when he jumps over his opponent, the hitboxes by his feet can still hit, and need to be blocked by holding away from the side Zangief is now on. Another common trick to cross up an opponent is to shoot a fireball at them, then teleport behind them right before the fireball hits, so that they need to hold away from where you teleported to in order to block the fireball.

- v. - To land such a hit on an opponent.

Crossup Protection

- n. - A system mechanic in some games that allows Cross-Ups to be blocked in either direction. It may apply only to certain moves under certain conditions, or to all moves.

Cross-Under

- v. - Similar to the Cross-Up, except that it is performed by walking or dashing underneath an airborne opponent.

Crouch

- adj. - The condition your character is in if you hold any of the three down positions on the joystick. Describes attacks done from this position.

- v. - To press one of the down positions to cause your character to be in a crouching position.

Crouch Dashing

- n. - The same as a "Dash," but performed while Crouching. Mostly applies to 3-D games.

D

Damage Scaling

- n. - A system in many fighting games where each attack deals less damage as it is used further into a combo. This can work on a per-hit basis, or on a per-move basis. Per-move can make multi-hit moves stronger. Per-move can punish multihit moves for being easier to confirm out of. Some moves apply additional scaling, especially when they are used as the first hit of a combo.

Dash

- n. - The act of making your character move forward more quickly than if you just walked. In some games, Dashing is distinguished from a Run because Dashes stop after a set distance, while Runs can keep you moving forward indefinitely. However, every game implements Dashes differently, and in many games, Dashes and Runs are the same thing.

- v. - To perform a Dash.

Delay

- n. - The period in a any move where your character can no longer hit the opponent and is still stuck in recovery time, unable to do anything except wait for the move to finish. Also referred to as Frame Disadvantage.

Desperation Move

- n. - See "Super Move". This is the term for a super move in many SNK fighters. Usually becomes available at low health.

Directional Moves

- n. - The name of Normal Moves that require you to hold a specific direction on the joystick. Ryu's overhead punch is an example of this because you have to hold Toward on the controller and press Medium Punch in order to do the move. Leaving the joystick at Neutral or Back will not result in the Hop Kick. Also referred to as "Command Normals."

Disjointed

- adj. - Describes a move that has hitboxes that reach further than its hurtboxes, such as on a weapon that reaches out further visually than the character's limb.

Dodge

- n. - A type of action that causes your character to attempt to avoid an attack rather than blocking it, usually by making the character invincible to strikes temporarily. This can come in the form of Dodges in Capcom Vs. SNK 2 or Side Stepping in the Virtua Fighter series.

- v. - To perform a Dodge.

Dodge Attack

-n. - In some games, there are certain attacks you can perform only in the middle of a Dodge. These are known as Dodge Attacks.

Double Tapping

- v. - A technique for inputting moves in tight timing windows more reliably. By tapping twice, you have two chances to successfully hit the correct window. Also see "Pianoing."

Dragon Punch

- n. - A common type of special move where the character will do a jumping uppercut from the ground into the air. The startup of this move is generally invincible, or at least has really good hitboxes, allowing it to beat any move if properly timed. The recovery however is really long, waiting to come down from the air. This means Dragon Punch can beat any move, but also loses if it is missed or blocked.- n. - Another name for the Forward, Down, Down/Forward motion required to perform a dragon punch. Other moves that share this input are said to have "the DP input."

E

Exhibition Combos

- n. - Term referring to combos that have no practicality in actual competitive play, but are really funny, cool, or amazing to see. Combos that are really cool but do less damage than a simpler, easier Combo can be considered an Exhibition Combo. They are really just for show, or for gaining a psychological edge over opponents when done in competitive play. Exhibition Combos are usually what are on display during Combo Videos.

F

Far Away

- adj. - Used to describe the type of Normal Move that is performed at a slight distance away from the opponent. This only applies to games that have Close Up moves. If the game does not have Close Up moves, then everything, in essence, is a Far Away move.

Fighting Game

- n. - If you are reading this and don't know what this is, you are in the wrong place.

Flash Kick

- n. - An invincible uppercut special move similar to a Dragon Punch, except it is activated with a down up charge, instead of the traditional Forward, Down, Down/Forward motion.

Float

- n. - Describes the condition that is created when moves pop the opponent into the air as a set-up for Juggles. This term is used mostly in 3-D games.

Flying Screen

- n. - Only applies to the Versus Series of games. This is an event where the screen scrolls very quickly after a character is struck by a certain move in certain situations. The view of the game follows the person who was hit and the person who initiated the hit is scrolled off the screen. Once the screen stops moving, the person who was hit will just lie there while the other player hops into the screen from the side. One of the most significant things about the Flying Screen is that, once put into effect, many limitations come over the attacking character, such as the removal of the ability to Super Jump or perform Special Moves.

Flying Screen Deterioration

- n. - The Flying Screen causes limitations against the person who caused the Flying Screen. However, there are ways to get around the limitations, and pretty much eradicate all limitations completely so that your character is free to do whatever he/she would like. This is known as Flying Screen Deterioration, often abbreviated "FSD."

Footsies

- n. - The primarily grounded component of the neutral game, where players primarily rely on pokes, whiff punishes, and moving in close to land hits.

Frame

- n. - All Video Games display what is happening on-screen by replacing the image periodically over short intervals of time. Each of these images is called a frame. Almost every fighting game runs at 60 frames per second. This means the smallest window of time in a fighting game is 1/60th of a second, or 16.667ms. It also means frames can be used as a common unit of measurement for time in fighting games, allowing you to measure how long each part of a move takes, and the total duration of the move.

Frame Advantage

- n. - The duration of time after you recover from an attack, but before an opponent recovers from the Hit Stun or Block stun of that attack. Some moves innately have frame advantage because their recovery is shorter than their hitstun, others can be made advantaged by canceling them. When you have frame advantage, if both you and your opponent attempt to attack at the first possible moment, your attack will come out first. Some refer to having frame advantage as it being your "turn." If a move has enough frame advantage on hit, it can combo. If it does not, it can frame trap.

Frame Disadvantage

- n. - The duration of time after your opponent has recovered from Hit Stun or Block Stun, but before you have recovered from the attack that dealt that hitstun or blockstun. When your attack has frame disadvantage, your opponent is capable of acting before you are. You have surrendered your "turn" to your opponent. If your attack has enough frame disadvantage, it is Unsafe.

Frame Data

- n. - A record of the properties of a character's move(s), such as the duration of startup, active, and recovery listed in frames as a common unit of measuring time. Frame Data also records the Frame Advantage of each attack on Hit and Block, so it can be determined which attacks combo, which attacks form frame traps, which are unsafe on block, and which are at frame disadvantage, making it your opponent's turn to attack. Frame Data also usually lists what the cancel options on each move are. It is important to know which moves on your character are plus or minus on block, and which moves are unsafe, so you can know when it is your turn, and when you are committing to a move that may be punished.

Frame Trap

- n. - A situation in which you have frame advantage, leaving a small gap between your prior attack and next attack, a gap shorter than the duration of your opponent's attack's startup. The opponent is trapped between the advantage frames of your prior attack and quick startup of your next attack. If there is no gap, it becomes a true blockstring and the opponent has no chance to attack, and thereby no chance to get trapped.

- v. - To employ a situation of frame advantage in order to counter hit an opponent as they attempt to attack.

Full Parry

- n. - This refers to a situation in which all hits of an incoming combo are parried. Take what happened at Evolution 2004 for example, when Daigo parried every hit of a Houyoku-Sen (Chun-Li's SA2). For more info, see "Parry."

- v. - To perform such an action.

Fuzzy Guard

- v. - When an opponent blocks an attack high, they are forced into the high blockstun animation, even if they switch to crouch blocking. By attacking the opponent high after a jump-in, they are still standing when they try to low block, making them vulnerable to instant overheads, which otherwise cannot reach low enough to hit crouchblocking opponents.

- v. - Using Option Selects to cover multiple defensive options at once, such as teching, jumping, and blocking.

G

Gimmick

- n. - A setup that can be difficult to deal with, but has a guaranteed solution that does not require a guess about what the opponent will do next, either using one set of inputs that always works, or being able to react to each of the opponent's options in the setup. Gimmicks are strong at a low level, as they are difficult to deal with, but at an intermediate level, every player is already competent enough to deal with them every time.

For example, Karin's Ressenha in Street Fighter V hits high, then has a low followup, and a jumping grab followup that catches standing opponents only. While this may be difficult to block for beginners, it can be beaten every time by blocking the first two hits high, then blocking low, because blocking low will beat the low followup, and cause the jumping grab followup to miss. This can become a mixup if Karin chooses not to do the followups, instead going for a normal throw.

Grab Box

- n. - A type of Hit Box that is used with throws to determine if the opponent is grabbed. In most games, grab boxes only register a throw if they connect with the push box of their opponent, meaning grabs cannot grab the limbs of opponents. Grab boxes are usually designated to only work on opponents who are grounded or airborne, missing on opponents who are in the wrong state.

Grappler

- v. - A character archetype that typically has a large hitbox, long ranging moves, a lot of health, slow movement, and powerful command grabs.

Ground Tech

- v. - The action of pressing a button when hitting the ground to get a different knockdown animation, such as a quick rise, delayed wakeup, or a tech roll. Also called an Ukemi.

Guard

- n. - See "Block."

Guard Cancel

- v. - An action that can be performed during blockstun that allows you to cancel blockstun and hit the opponent, likely while they are still committed to attacking. This appears in many games, such as Street Fighter Alpha with Alpha Counters, Guilty Gear with Dead Angle Attack, Street Fighter V with V-Reversal, Dragon Ball Fighter Z, Dark Stalkers, and Garou: Mark of the Wolves.

Guard Crush

- n. - The act of having your Guard Meter, if one is present, depleted, leaving you vulnerable for a brief period of time to any attack.

- n. - In some games, this meter is added to discourage repeated blocking of your opponent's attacks. It typically drains after blocking attacks and recovers its energy slowly. If it is completely drained, the character will go into Guard Crush, a small period of stun where they are vulnerable to any incoming attacks.

Guard Point

- n. - A property of some moves that allow them to block attacks while they are active.

Guts Scaling

- n. - A system mechanic that is common to many fighting games, coined by Guilty Gear. Guts Scaling refers to how characters will take less damage as their health bar reaches closer to 0. In Guilty Gear, chip damage is not subject to Guts Scaling. Guts Scaling otherwise doesn't really function as a comeback factor, because it's not changing the total effective HP of the character, just where the HP is concentrated in the bar. It can psychologically feel like one though, because it leads to characters spending more time with a low amount of life.

H

Hard Knockdown

- n. - A knockdown that cannot be teched. This means the attacker always has the full duration of the knockdown time to set up Okizeme when they land a hard knockdown.

Health Meter

- n. - The Meter that shows how much energy you have left. The first person to have their Health Meter drained is the person who will lose the Round/Match, depending on the game.

High

- adj. - The attribute of an attack that can only be blocked standing.

High Jump

- n. - An action that causes your character to Jump higher and farther than your normal Jump. This only exists in a few fighting games, most notably the King of the Fighters Series and the Street Fighter III series. It's not quite the same as Super Jumping. See "Super Jump" for differences.

- v. - To execute a High Jump.

High Jump Cancel

- n. - In some games, there are Normal Moves that can be canceled by a High Jump, and only a High Jump. Doing so is what is referred to as a High Jump Cancel.

- v. - To perform a High Jump cancel.

Hit Box

- n. - Most Video Games do not use the visible models or sprites for collision, instead using invisible geometry called "Hit Boxes" generically to determine if two objects are in contact with each other. These Hit Boxes can perform a variety of different functions, such as determining where characters are attacking and can be hit; keeping characters separate from one another; determining whether a move crosses up or not; or determining the proximity in which a move will force the opponent to block. Hitboxes can be a variety of different shapes, from actual rectangles, to bubbles, capsules, or 3d geometry.

- n. - A Hit Box that deals damage when it makes contact with an opponent's Hurt Box. Damaging Hit Boxes are called just Hit Boxes. Hit Boxes that receive damage are called Hurt Boxes.

Hit Confirm

- v. - In most fighting games, you need to cancel attacks at the same moment they hit the opponent, meaning you cannot see whether that hit was successful or blocked at the moment you hit. You need to choose to cancel when you're doing the move, you cannot choose to cancel after seeing whether the attack worked or not. This is dangerous because many special moves are Unsafe on block and if you choose to cancel into them against a blocking opponent, you will be punished. Hit confirming involves using a longer combo where you can see whether the earlier hits were successful before deciding to cancel. If the earlier attack in the combo hits, you know it is safe to cancel the next one. This means in most games, hit confirms require at least 2 normal attacks before the special cancel. Confirming can help avoid wasting resources like super meter, or committing to unsafe on block moves when it would result in being punished.

In some rare games, it is possible to confirm off a single hit. This usually only works when the game allows you to cancel the move after the Hit Freeze has ended, or if that game has exceptionally long Hit Freeze on attacks.

Hit Frame

- n. - An Animation Frame of your character that actually can register a hit. For example, Ryu's Crouching Fierce in Super Street Fighter II Turbo has multiple Hit Frames. He can hit with the Animation Frame with his fist still at chest level as well as the Animation Frame with his hand up in the air. The Animation Frame where he is retracting his arm, however, is NOT a Hit Frame because it cannot hit anyone in the particular frame.

Hit Freeze

- n. - This occurs in most Fighting Games, but not all (more typically in 2-D fighting games). It describes the tendency for moves that connect against the opponent to "freeze" and almost have time stop for a fraction of a second on the frame that it makes contact (whether the move is blocked or not). This hitfreeze is generally also the window to cancel into a move, though some games will allow you to cancel after it on a successful hit or block. Some games do not have hitfreeze, such as the Mortal Kombat series and most 3d fighters, but this tends to be the exception rather than the rule.

Hit Grab

- v. - A type of attack that will grab the opponent on hit, playing a paired animation of both characters, but unlike throws, can be blocked. In some games hit grabs cannot be beaten by extra defensive mechanics, such as parries.

Hit Stun

- n. - A reeling animation the character is forced into when they are hit by an attack. During this state, the character cannot perform any actions until the stun animation has ended. Hitting the character again before they recover from hitstun is called a Combo.

Hurt Box

- n. - A type of hitbox that is specific to the areas where a character will take damage. The character is damaged when an attacking Hit Box overlaps their Hurt Box.

Hyper Combo

- n. - See Super Combo

I

Install Super

- n. - A type of super move that, rather than dealing damage, powers up the character temporarily.

Instant Air Dash

- n. - This is a technique that applies only to games with an Air Dash mechanic. It allows you to go from a grounded position to the air, performing an Air Dash almost instantaneously, so that your Air Dash is low to the ground, allowing for a quick attack from the air.

Instant Overhead

- v. - To use an air attack as soon as one jumps, during the rising portion, in order to hit the opponent high much faster than overhead attacks normally can. This can be accomplished with Fuzzy Guard or Tiger Knee air special moves.

Invincibility Frame

- n. - Invincibility Frame refers to those frames of animation where an attack will have no effect on a fighter despite collision.

J

Juggle

- n. - Any hit that occurs against an opponent in the middle of a Reel in the air.

- v. - To hit the opponent with a Juggle.

Jump

- v. - To make your character jump into the air, most of the time to perform jumping attacks or to avoid the moves of your opponent.

- adj. - Used to describe attacks done while in a Jump.

Jump-In

- n. - An attack that is done by a character in the air against a grounded opponent. Jump-Ins are beaten with Anti-Air. Jump-Ins can lead to combos because landing cancels the recovery of the jump attack, creating frame advantage. The lower to the ground the attack is performed, the more frame advantage on landing. Some jumping attacks force a recovery animation on landing, negating some or all of their frame advantage.

K

Kara-Cancel

- v. - From the Japanese word for "Empty." To Kara-Cancel is to cancel a move during its startup frames, before it becomes active. Usually this is done to gain a benefit from that move, such as the forward movement it would normally have, added onto the move canceled into. Kara-Canceling into throw in order to extend the range of a throw is a common use of kara-cancels. The Kara-Cancel window is usually really small, in many games as small as a single frame.

Knock-Down

- n. - A move that, when landed on an opponent, causes the opponent to fall on their backs (as opposed to landing on their feet).

- adj. - Used to describe a move that causes a Knock-Down.

L

Landing Punish

- v. - To punish an opponent as they land when they have sacrificed their Trip Guard by doing an aerial attack.

Launcher

- n. - These are moves that put your opponent into the air so that you can perform a Super Jump Cancel or High Jump Cancel to follow the opponent into the air to Air Combos.

Level

- adj. - In a few Fighting Games, Super Meters come with "Levels," allowing you to perform smaller or larger versions of the Super Combo. Whenever you see a Super described as a "Level #" Super Combo, that referrs to doing the Super at the indicated Level.

Life Meter

- n. - See "Health Meter."

Link

- n. - A combo method where you combo two moves in a row not based on any special system built-in combo method. The first move simply recovers fast enough and the second move simply comes out quickly enough for the two to connect.

- v. - To perform a Link.

Low

- adj. - The attribute of an attack that can only be blocked crouching.

Low Profile

- n. - A move or state of the character where the character's hurtboxes are very low to the ground, allowing them to avoid hitboxes that are further up from the ground. Useful in anti-air, and beating standing pokes.

- v. - To use a move with hurtboxes low to the ground in order to avoid a move whose hitboxes are higher up.

M

Magic Pixel

- n. - The condition in which your character has absolutely no energy left in your Health Meter. The next attack that does any damage will defeat you, no matter how small the damage is. Can be especially relevant in games where the opponent cannot be defeated by chip damage.

Match

- n. - One complete game of a Fighting Game. When you defeat your opponent, you've won the Match.

Meaty

- adj. - Describes attacks that are timed or spaced so they will hit the opponent on their last active frame, so they will have more frame advantage, or less frame disadvantage. A good opportunity for this is when an opponent is rising from a knockdown. Meaty attacks can sometimes allow new combos to happen. Spacing moves that move over time, such as Cammy's spiral arrow, so they hit with the very end can make them safe where they are otherwise unsafe on block.

- adj. - Describes attacks that are timed so that the enemy gets up into it when they get up after being knocked down, named for their high potential to hit opponents with the last active frame.

Meaty Attack

- n. - An attack that is Meaty.

Meter

- n. - When used in Fighting Game discussions, it almost always refers to the secondary meter for the character, most of the time the Super Meter. So when someone asks, "Do you have enough Meter for the move?", they are referring to the Super Meter.

Mid

- adj. - The attribute of an attack that can be blocked standing or crouching.

Middle

- n. - In Tag Team fighters, describes a character who is in the middle of the team. Usually selected because they have a good assist, and has a little reliance on assists from their team.

Minus

- n. - To be at frame disadvantage.- adj. - Describing a move that has frame disadvantage.

Mix-Up

- n. - A situation in which you can do 2 or more possible unreactable options, and the opponent needs to respond differently to beat them, thereby forcing them to guess which option you'll pick.

A common example of a Mix-Up is hit or throw. Up close, the opponent cannot see whether you will hit or throw on reaction. If you hit, then they need to block. If you throw, then they need to Throw Tech. If they try to Throw Tech when you are going for a hit, they will be hit. If they block when you go for a throw, they will be thrown.

Low/Overhead is another common Mix-Up, but in many situations it is reactable, making it not a real Mix-Up. When the opponent is pre-occupied with too many other things, their reaction time will slow, which can make an otherwise reactable low/high into a real Mix-Up. If a move naturally hits low then high every time it is used (or vice versa), then it is not a Mix-Up, even if it may be difficult to block, because there is no point where the opponent is forced to guess what comes next.

Another form of Mix-Up is the Timing Mix-Up, where you force your opponent to guess when they need to use an option, punishing them for choosing the wrong timing. This is common in Block Strings where there may be either frame traps or genuine gaps in pressure where pressure is being reset. If they choose to attack during a frame trap, they will get caught, where if they choose to attack during a pressure reset, they'll escape the situation.

Fighting Games revolve around forcing your opponent into situations where they need to guess what your Mix-Up will be, by creating circumstances where they need to commit to an option during a window where they cannot react. The less time there is to react, and the more options your opponent is forced to guess between, the stronger the mixup.

N

Negative Edge

- n. - The release of a button, as opposed to the press.

- v. - To use the release of a button to trigger a special move after inputting the command.

Negative Feedback

- n. - See Comeback Mechanic.

Neutral

- n. - Describes the position of the joystick when you are not holding it in any direction.

Neutral Game

- n. - The phase of the game where neither opponent has each other in stun or knockdown. Where both players are trying to land a hit, but neither has an explicit advantage state.

Neutral State

- n. - The period of time when your character is NOT in the middle of any move or jump. A Neutral State is when you character is on the ground and has the freedom to choose any action including walk, Crouch, Jump, attack, and block. In most games, Neutral States do not come into play, but there are a very few games where it can affect gameplay.

Normal Move

- n. - This is used to describe any attack performed by a character that does not require a joystick motion. Normal Moves typically do not cause block damage and are done by simple, single button presses. Directional Moves count as Normal Moves because they only require a joystick position, not a motion. Most 3d games do not use this as there is no differentiation between normal and special moves.

O

Offensive Crouch

- n. - Describes the position of the joystick when you hold diagonally between the direction your character is facing and Down.

Off-the-Ground

- v. - Abbreviated "OTG." To Off-The-Ground someone means to hit them when they are knocked down, picking them up off the ground, allowing for a combo extension. In many games this requires either a special move capable of OTG, to knock them down with a move that enables an OTG followup, or the game might allow any move to OTG, but there's a limited number of times you can be OTG before going into hard knockdown.

Okizeme

- n. - Attacking the opponent as they are waking up. A word referring to the wakeup game from the attacker's perspective, not the perspective of the person who is on the ground.

Origin Point

- n. - The center point of the character. This is the character's true position. The direction you block is determined by which side your origin point is on relative to your opponent. In most games you will land when your origin point crosses the line of the floor. A few, like Marvel vs Capcom 2 disable this temporarily on certain moves to allow moves to hit closer to the ground.

Overheads

- n. - In 2-D games, describes the name of an attack performed from the ground that must be blocked while Standing. If the enemy Crouches and blocks, they will get hit by Overheads. In 3-D games, this is usually referred to as a "Mid Attack".

Option Select

- n. - When a player inputs multiple possible options at the same time, and the computer automatically selects the appropiate one according to the situation. As an extremely basic example, in Super Turbo, you attempt to throw your rival with Medium Punch. If you are within throw range, a throw will come out, otherwise a Medium Punch will come out. Advanced option selects are used to reduce the risk of getting punished if your initial option fails. An example of this would be Honda's Auto Mix-up in Super Turbo. Basically, you do something, and if that something fails, another useful move comes out in its place, reducing (or eliminating, in some cases) the risk of geting punished for it.

P

Parry

- n. - An alternative to Blocking. Rather than Blocking an attack and dealing with all of the Block Stun and Pushback associated with it, you deflect the attack without any Pushback and virtually no delay of any kind. This usually involves putting your character at risk, as the window for Parries is often small. The difference between this and Counters is that Counters usually have an automatic follow-up. Parrying allows the character to do anything they want afterward, even another Parry if the next attack is coming too quickly. Parrying also avoids any Block Damage.

- v. - To perform a Parry.

Piano

- v. - To use a technique for performing a move at the earliest possible instant or within a narrow frame of time by quickly pressing and releasing all the buttons that can produce the move. One use of this in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike is to link supers after overheads on some characters, or performing reversal moves in games with tight reversal windows, such as Street Fighter II. The window for these can be as tight as a single frame, so by pressing and releasing all the buttons can give you more chances to hit the correct window.

Plus

- n. - To be at frame advantage.

- adj. - Describing a move that has frame advantage.

Point

- n. - In Tag Team fighters, describes either the character that is currently fighting, or the character selected to go first in a team. This character typically occupies this position because they don't require a lot of meter, are good at building meter, and get a lot of mileage out of their team member's assists.

Poke

- v. - To use a longer ranged Melee attack to hit an opponent who is intent on walking into your space, or interrupt an opponent before they poke you.

Positive Feedback

- n. - See Slippery Slope.

Pressure

- n. - A strategy of using Block Strings, Projectiles, and Anti-Air to create a situation where the opponent has very few and very small opportunities to fight back or even act without being hit.

Priority

- n. - In most games this is an abstract notion of how likely a move is to beat other moves, based on a mixture of its startup, range, and hurtbox size. Some games such as Guilty Gear or Arcana Heart employ an actual priority system where moves of the same priority will clash and moves of greater priority will win. Priority is also used to resolve moves that hit on the same frame in some games such as Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike or Street Fighter V, where the higher priority move will not trade with lower priority moves if they hit on the same frame.

Projectile

- n. - The generic name applied to all Special Moves where the character produces an object that travels independently of the character and has a hit box which can damage the opponent.

Projectile Invincible

- adj. - A property of some moves where they cannot be harmed by Projectiles. Characters may still be vulnerable to other forms of attack during this period. Cammy's Spin Knuckle is well known for its projectile invincibility.

Proration

- n. - Another term for Damage scaling generically.

- adj. - A property of some moves to force more damage scaling when they are used. Initial Proration causes the combo to deal less damage if this move is used as the first move in the combo. Forced Proration decreases damage for the rest of the combo regardless of where it is used in the combo. Knockdown sometimes also causes forced Proration if it is possible to continue the combo from knockdown.

Pushback

- n. - After Blocking or getting hit by an attack, your character will slide away from the attacker a slight distance. This is referred to as Pushback. In the Corner, your opponent will be pushed away from you rather than you getting pushed back, since you have no further room to move. In the corner, projectiles will not push back on either character, and you will not be pushed back as far by juggle moves, which can enable some corner-only combos.

Push Block

- v. - In some games it is possible to push your opponent off of you during blockstun, forcing them further away. This is common in games with extremely tight pressure or blockstring infinites. Push blocking at the right time can set up a whiff punish on high recovery moves.

Push Box

- n. - A type of hitbox that determines the physical dimensions of the character for the purposes of avoiding overlapping other characters, and hitting the walls and ground. This hitbox is usually kept extremely simple, as a single rectangle, and usually avoids stretching as much as possible to avoid oddities in characters pushing against each other and the environment, such as characters passing through one another.

R

Raw Tag

- v. - In Tag Team Fighters, this refers to tagging out to a team member when your opponent is not in a combo. This is dangerous, because the tag-in animation usually has recovery time, similar to a Dragon Punch. It is also usually invincible, similar to a Dragon Punch. Tag Team fighters frequently offer safer ways to tag during combos, but one might resort to a Raw Tag when their character is about to die and has a lot of Color Health.

Reaction Time

- n. - The period of time it takes someone to see something and respond to it. Reaction time can be about doing an action upon seeing something, the period of time it takes to distinguish between two things, or a combination of these. The more different things one can react to in a circumstance, and the more difficult the decision, the slower reaction time will be. Median human reaction time is around 273ms in optimal conditions, or 17-20 frames. Absolute peak human reaction time is closer to 10 frames. If something occurs across a smaller window of time than this, it is unreactable, and therefore a mixup.

Recovery

- n. - The time after a move has finished being active, but before the character returns to an idle state where they can act.

Reel

- n. - This is the action of a character when they are hit by a move.

Reel Arc

- n. - The path that a character falls in after being hit by a Knock Down move. When hit by a Knock Down, the character usually flies upwards a little and then falls back down in an arc.

Reset

- n. - A type of setup where a combo is dropped at a specific time where it is possible to start a new combo, and usually also mix up the opponent in the process. This is done to land more combos more easily, and reset the damage scaling on the combo, where later hits deal less damage than earlier hits.

Oro in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike has a simple reset on his cl.MP xx QCF + MK loop. Normally he can loop this combo 3 times, but on the last loop, he can instead choose to jab the opponent into an air reset state, dash under them (or dash late to fake dashing under them, but end up in front, creating a mixup against people who know to block the opposite direction), and do the combo over again from the beginning.

- v. - To drop a combo on an opponent intentionally for the purpose of landing a new combo on them.

Restand

- v. - To combo the opponent in such a way that a juggle will not end in a knockdown, but rather place the opponent back on the ground in a standing state, either setting up for mixups, or even continuing the combo.

Reversal

- adj. - This describes the ability for a character to go from a "non-hittable" state straight into a Special Move instantly with no extra Frames in between. This refers almost exclusively to the Street Fighter series (Classic, Alpha, III, etc.), as in most other games Reversals are almost unimportant to the actual gameplay, though it does apply to certain other games. There are three situations that a player is able to perform a Reversal attack:

*1) Going straight from getting up off the floor (during which you are invincible) into a Special Move (the instant you are done getting up, you go from the last frame of getting up into the first Frame of your Special Move).

*2) Going straight from Block Stun into a Special Move (the instant your Block Stun ends, you go from the last Block Stun Frame right into the first Frame of your Special Move).

*3) If you are hit out of the air by a non-Knock Down move and can no longer be Juggled, you can go straight from your landing animation (during which you are invincible) into a Special Move the INSTANT you land (right when you land, you go from the last Frame of landing right into the first Frame of your Special Move).

This is most useful in conjunction with moves that are invincible when they start (Ryu or Ken's Shoryuken, Cammy's Cannon Spike, most Level 3 Super Combos, a Custom Combo, a Roll, etc.), as they will beat any attack that is attempted on you as you are getting up.

Reverse Beat

- n. - A system that allows you to chain higher strength moves into lower strength moves.

- v. - To chain a higher strength move into a lower strength one.

Roll

- n. - 1. When hit by a Knock-Down, there is the ability in some games to, upon landing on the ground, to roll forward the instant you land rather than falling onto your back. Different games have varying degrees of invulnerability during these Rolls.

- n. - 2. In some games, Rolls are a method of moving your character while being invincible during most of the move. Some games only let you Roll forward, others let you Roll in either direction.

- v. To perform a Roll.

Round

- n. - In most games, matches are separated into Rounds. Whoever wins the majority of the Rounds wins the Match. Most Rounds are determined by who drains the opponent's Health Meter completely first.

Run

- n. - A method of movement much faster than walking. This usually keeps your character moving forward continuously, but leaves them vulnerable. In some games, this is synonymous with Dashing, but in others Running and Dashing are two different techniques.

- v. - To perform a Run.

Rushdown

- n. - A strategy of trying to get into close range in order to pressure and deal large damage.

- adj. - a character archetype that uses the rushdown strategy.

S

Safe

- adj. - Also "Safe on Block." Describes an attack that cannot be punished. An attack is safe based on the range and frame disadvantage of the attack. To punish, an opponent must have an attack that starts up in less frames than the attack's frame disadvantage, that also has enough range to reach at the distance between the characters after pushback.

Safe Jump

- v. - A common Option Select where one does a jump-in attack as a Meaty Attack, timed such that if the opponent does an invincible Reversal, they will land from their jump-in before the reversal becomes active.

Self-Chain

- n. - In many 2-D Fighting Games, the lightest attack buttons can usually chain into themselves, even on whiff, making short combos, aiding pressure, and letting people mash out of bad situations.

Setup

- n. - A situation one player creates in order to make it easier to damage the opponent with a mixup or otherwise. For example, laying a projectile on top of their wakeup to force them to block the next move instead of reversal, or trapping them in the corner at a specific range, so they cannot jump over fireballs without getting hit by a followup anti-air. Knockdowns are the most common form of setup.

Set-Play

- n. - A situation in which one player can follow a plan of action to reliably deal with all of their opponent's options.

Short Hop

- n. - In a few fighting games, most notably the King of Fighters series, there is a way to make your character perform a Jump smaller and shorter than a normal Jump, allowing for quicker attacks from the air.

- v. - To perform a Short Hop.

Shoto

- n. - An archetype of fighting game characters who have invincible dragon punches and simple fireball projectiles, such as Ryu or Ken.

Side-Switch

- n. - A property of some moves and combos, where they will switch what side each character is on, allowing one to corner opponents even when you're in the corner.

Slide

- n. - This is the classification of moves that cause the character performing the slide to travel forward with an attack that must be Crouch blocked.

- v. - To perform a slide.

Slippery Slope'

- n. - Also known of as "Positive Feedback", a Slippery Slope is a mechanic or circumstance where the player who is winning gets more advantages for winning. Common examples of this are the way you gain more meter from hitting your opponent than they do for getting hit, chip damage on block allowing the player at advantage to whittle down their opponent and kill them on block when they are down to a magic pixel, guard gauges doing the same, being given an incoming Mix-Up versus the next tag team member when the point character is knocked out, being granted knockdown or powerups for successful hits or throws, dealing additional damage when your health is closer to full.

Good forms of positive and negative feedback usually are temporary advantages, such as knockdown rather than permanent ones that feed back into themselves. Positive feedback can make matches more dependent on who gets an early advantage.

Positive feedback does not include anything that is a normal reward for getting a hit, such as damage or a combo. Positive feedback is when the reward for a hit increases the likelyhood or rewards for future hits proportional to your opponent. Getting a lead isn't positive feedback, having a lead making it more likely to get a further lead is positive feedback.

Snapback

- n. - In Tag Team fighters, this type of move can force a team member who is off-screen to come back on-screen, depleting any Color Health they may have had.

- v. - To force an opponent's character back on-screen.

Snowball Effect

- n. - See Slippery Slope

Special Move

- n. - This is used to describe the type of attack that requires a joystick motion or a combination of buttons to perform. One of the main properties of a Special Move is their ability to do damage even if the attack is blocked (although in some games, everything does Block Damage). Another property of a Special Move is the ability to be canceled into from a Bufferable Normal Move. This term is not applicable to the major 3-D games out there because there are no moves which fit this definition.

Spinning Pile Drivers/SPD

- n. - This is the slang name given to all Command Throws that particularly require the 360º motion. The motion consists of six consecutive directional inputs [which amounts to 3/4ths of a circle] on the joystick plus a button. In many game manuals, it is notated as a 360º motion, but in fact all games only require the motion to be 270º for it to register. This term comes from Zangief, the Street Fighter II character who was the first to have a Command Throw executed with this motion, his trademark Spinning Pile Driver.

Moves such as Cammy's Hooligan Throw (not a Spinning Pile Driver motion to perform) or Sodom's Daikyou Burning (not an unblockable Throw even though it uses the 360 motion) do not count as a Spinning Pile Driver. Abbreviated SPD or 360.

Stance Cancel

- v. - Many special moves go through a stance that can be held to charge the move, or pick from several different options for the move, including canceling the stance. By canceling a normal or special into the stance, then canceling the stance, one can return to a Neutral State sooner, reducing the recovery of the original move.

Standing

- adj. - The condition your character is in if the joystick is in any of the middle positions: Back, Towards, and Neutral. Describes attacks done from this position.

Startup

- n. - The beginning frames of a move, before a move becomes active. In most frame data tables, the startup number listed is the first active frame, in order to make calculating links, punishes, and frame traps easier.

Strike Invincible

- adj. - A property of a move where the character cannot be damaged by physical attacks, but may still be vulnerable to throws. Rolls in the King of Fighters series are usually Strike Invincible, but not Throw Invincible.

Stuff

- v. - To interrupt an opponent's attack before it can hit you. See also: Counter Hit

Stun

- n. - In many Fighting Games, when a character is struck by moves too many times in a quick succession, the character goes into what is known as Stun. The character is unable to move, Block, walk, Jump, attack, etc. They are just sitting ducks for a short period of time. The only action available to the Stunned character is to attempt to shake out of being Stunned quicker than normal.

- v. - To cause your opponent to go into Stun.

Stun Damage

- n. - Most games have an internal Stun Meter kept track of that, when filled up, causes the character to go into Stun. Each attack that lands builds up this Meter. The amount of Stun built up on the Meter is referred to as Stun Damage.

Stun Meter

- n. - Most games have an internal Stun Meter kept track of that, when filled up by repeated Stun Damage, causes the character to go into Stun. Some games have the Stun Meter exposed.

Super Armor/Armour

- a. - A property of a move (or character) wherein the move requires more than one hit (or a certain amount of damage in certain games) to interrupt. Hits taken by the move during super armor are usually taken as damage or Color Health.

Super Combo

- n. - A special type of attack that usually consumes energy from a secondary Meter to perform a particularly damaging and powerful attack. The power and effectiveness of Super Combos does vary from game to game, but the key factor of a Super Combo is that it requires energy from a secondary Super Meter.

Super Flash

- n. - A short pause that occurs when a character activates their Super. The screen usually goes black during this time, and the character may strike a pose before attacking. This gives opponents extra reaction time versus super attacks, and also gives them time to buffer a move. Super Flash does not take up Real-Time and it usually freezes everything happening on-screen while it's happening. Super Flashes can also be triggered by some other types of moves occasionally, such as roman cancels in Guilty Gear. On Command Grab supers, the Super Flash usually occurs after the startup of the move has already ended, preventing the opponent from jumping out on reaction.

Super Jump

- n. - In some games, you can make your character Jump far and above regular Jumping and even High Jumping. This is usually only included in games that the playing field is twice or more the height of a normal playing field, allowing for Air Combos and various forms of aerial combat.

- v. - To perform a Super Jump.

Super Jump Cancel

- n.- In some games, there are Normal Moves that can be canceled into Super Jumps and only Super Jumps to allow you to chase the opponent into the air for Air Combos.

- v. - To perform a Super Jump Cancel.

Super Meter

- n. - A secondary meter included in many Fighting Games that builds up energy during the course of a Match. Once filled up completely or to certain points, the character who the Super Meter belongs to is able to perform a Super Combo.

Supers

- n. - See "Super Combo."

Sweep

- n. - An attack that must be Crouch blocked and knocks down when it successfully connects, including Slides. If you are performing a Stand block, you will be hit.

- v. - To hit your enemy with a Sweep.

T

Target Combo

- n. - A combo chain consisting of specific moves in a game that otherwise does not have a chain combo system, such as most games in the Street Fighter Series.

Taunt

- n. - An action whose sole purpose is to taunt the enemy. These actions usually leave you completely wide open to attack. So by putting yourself into a position in which you are completely helpless on purpose, you are showing your enemy that you do not think them worthy enough to defeat you even though you are leaving yourself vulnerable. In some games, Taunts can be canceled partway through and in other games Taunts give you special abilities.

- v. - To perform a Taunt.

Tech Hit

- n. - In actuality, Tech Hit is a terminology used by Capcom to describe any sort of bonus to the score of a character who did something special, such as a Counter Throw or a Parry. Many times though, people associate the term with a Tech Throw, which is actually just a Counter Throw.

Tech

- v. - To perform an input that enables you to Throw Tech, or exit a disadvantage state more quickly, such as knockdown or juggle. In some games you can roll to the left or right when you tech, or tech to delay wakeup.

Throw

- n. - Describes the form of attack, whether performed from the ground or in the air, that cannot be blocked at all. This can be a regular Throw or a Special Move Throw such as a Spinning Pile Driver.

- v. - To perform a Throw.

Throw Invincible

- adj. - A property of some moves where they cannot be thrown. Characters who are throw invincible may still be vulnerable to physical attacks. The pre-jump frames of jumping animations are throw invincible in most games. Backdashes in many games are throw invincible, if not completely invincible. Characters who are in the air are invincible to ground throws and vice versa.

Throw Tech

- n. - In most games it is possible to break out of throws when your opponent attempts one, usually by pressing a specific button, or attempting your own throw at the same time. You usually cannot throw tech when you are performing a move. The window for throw teching can vary wildly by game from same instant, to completely reactable.

Tick Throw

- n. - The act of hitting someone and throwing them immediately after their blockstun ends, so they do not have time to react. This is usually done after jabbing the opponent, using a light short range attack that has frame advantage, but low pushback, so the gap between the attack and throw is extremely small.

Tier

- n. - A term used by Fighting Game players to indicate a quality level of characters in a game. "Top Tier," for example, refers the the best characters in the game. Games are usually divided into multiple Tiers, the higher ones being where the best characters are, and the bottom ones being where the characters who stand less or little chance are.

Tiger Knee [Motion]

- n. - A slang term, originating from Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, which eventually became common jargon in many other fighting games. The original Tiger Knee command, used by the Street Fighter II character Sagat, consisted of the inputs: [Down, Down-Toward, Toward, Up-Toward + Kick].

In later games, when aerial Special Moves were implemented, the Tiger Knee Motion was used to minimize the time required to Jump and perform an aerial Special Move from the ground, particularly ones that were of the Down, Down-Towards, Towards code variety. Now, however, the term "Tiger Knee Motion" applies to all aerial special moves performed quickly from a Standing or Crouching state by taking the normal command input and adding an additional [Up-Towards], [Up-Back], or [Up] at the end of the input with the corresponding attack button.

Touch of Death

-n. - A combo that will completely eliminate an opponent's health. Also referred to by the acronym "ToD". '

Toward

- n. - Describes the position of the joystick that matches the direction your fighter is currently facing.

Trade

- v. - To hit an opponent at the same time as they hit you.

Trip Guard

- n. - A system mechanic that allows you to block during the landing animation of an attack. In most games, you lose your Trip Guard protection if you attacked in the air.

- v. - To take advantage of the opponent's inability to block when landing after sacrificing Trip Guard in order to anti-air them, usually with a low move so it reaches under their jump-in attack.

U

Unsafe

- adj. - A move that has so much frame disadvantage that an opponent can punish it. Sweeps and Dragon Punches are commonly unsafe against blocking opponents. Fireballs are sometimes unsafe, even on hit, versus opponents in the corner. More frame disadvantage can lead to a move being more unsafe. Moves that are at frame disadvantage are not necessarily unsafe, only if the opponent has a fast enough move to punish them at that range.

Unblockable

- adj. - Describes a move or setup that cannot be blocked. Does not describe throws, which cannot be blocked, but can usually be defended against by other means, such as Throw Teching, or Jumping.

Unblockable setups typically result from hitting the opponent with 2 different moves that need to be blocked in different directions at the same time, or close to the same time. The most common examples are high/low unblockables and left/right unblockables. Some games have measures that prevent these unblockables, such as Skullgirls, which sets you as blocking in all directions during the hit freeze of a successful block. Tag Team fighters frequently have high/low unblockables by setting up a team mate to hit low or high, while the point character hits in the other block zone, creating an unblockable. If projectiles have low or high hitting properties, they're another common source of high/low unblockables. Left/right unblockables typically result from placing a multihit projectile on top of an opponent and crossing them up as it is in the process of hitting them, forcing a quick left/right switch. Both of these are technically blockable in most games they occur in, but can be extremely difficult to impossible to humanly block.

Unblockables can also result from an option select that breaks the opponent's defense in some guaranteed way, such as air throwing and ground throwing in quick succession, setting the opponent up in a state where they are forced to take a throw, or setting up a guard breaking move in a way that cannot be escaped from.

Another example would be hitting the opponent during a state where they cannot block, such as during a superflash. The Valle CC trick in Street Fighter Alpha involves abusing the way Custom Combo makes the startup of your first attack effectively 0-frames to catch the opponent with a low attack while they are standing.

Unblockables can also result in some older games where there is a pre-block state before you are allowed to block, which may be skipped due to frameskip happening to catch the pre-block frames.

Untechable Time

- n. - In games with Air Techs, Untechable Time is essentially aerial hitstun. Every move has a unique amount of Untechable Time, and after it has ended, the opponent is allowed to Air Tech. If they do not Air Tech, then the attacker is allowed to continue their combo. Air Techs are also frequently vulnerable to air throws.

V

Vortex

- n. - A strategy in which one uses a knockdown to set up a combo that leads into another knockdown, also repeating the set up. By repeating this, they can keep forcing their opponent into the same bad sitution.

W

Wake-up

- adj. - Wake ups are just the one class of Reversals that are performed when getting up from the ground. See "Reversal."

Walk

- n. - The action of moving forward or backwards simply by holding left or right on the joystick.

- v. - To actually perform Walking.

Whiff

- v. - The act of an attack missing the opponent.

Whiff Punish

- v. - Hitting an opponent who has whiffed an attack during their recovery frames, either by hitting them directly, or hitting their outstretched limb.

Z

Zoning

- v. - To use long ranged moves to keep opponents outside of your space.